Rodrigo_P's post
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

How to identify and report fraud on Google Maps

Googler

UPDATE: As of June 11, 2020, we now have a new process in place for reporting abusive activity on Google Maps. You can report entire profiles on Google Maps from your mobile device. Read this post to learn more.

 

Have you ever come across a place on Google Maps that doesn’t really exist? How about a place with incorrect details that look suspicious? These edits violate the Google My Business guidelines and Local Guides guidelines, and they’re considered fraud.

 

People post fraud on Google Maps for the sake of profit-generating scams, which hurt legitimate businesses and make Maps less useful for everyone. You can help fight spam by reporting violations.

 

 

Maps listings with keywords in their address fieldsMaps listings with keywords in their address fields

 

 

.:: How do I identify fraud on Google Maps? Look for the following.

 

  • Businesses that list a P.O. Box, post office or virtual office as an address. A business needs to have a real-world address to be listed on Google Maps. Virtual offices and shared workspaces are acceptable if they’re staffed during typical business hours, but be aware that using these types of places as addresses is a popular fraud technique. P.O. Boxes are OK in countries where they are essential, such as Kenya and the U.A.E.
  • Online-only businesses. Online businesses that don’t meet customers face-to-face are not eligible to be on Maps.
  • Businesses that don’t exist. If a business is on Maps but is not real, it should be reported.
  • Businesses that use employees’ addresses. The scam here is to make it appear that the business has locations in places where it doesn’t actually operate. If you see a business that seems to be in a purely residential area, this might be the reason.
  • Keyword “stuffing.” If you see search terms “stuffed” into place names or address fields, that’s a sign of a fraudulent listing.
  • Fake websites or phone numbers. For example, a fraudulent hotel listing might include a hotel booking site instead of a site for an individual business. If a business’s site seems broken or distributes malware, that’s a sign of a fraudulent listing.
  • Business impersonators: Some people create fake listings for real businesses, such as national chains. If you think a listing might be fraudulent, check the brand’s official site to see its legitimate locations.
  • Reviews that point out abuse. Sometimes, people will notice a fraudulent listing and note it in a review.
  • Profanity. Sometimes, people will deface legitimate listings with edits that include foul language.
  • Illegal businesses: If a business is illegal where it operates, it can’t be on Google Maps.

 

.::How do I report fraud on Google Maps?

 

  1. Find the business on Google Maps
  2. Scroll down and select Suggest an edit
  3. Tap Place is permanently closed or has never existed
  4. Select Spam, fake or offensive as the reason
  5. Tap Submit

Report the listing as spam flowReport the listing as spam flow

 

 

.::Reporting a Local Guide

If you've found a Local Guide contributing content or behaving in a way that seems to violate our policies or Local Guides program rules, you now have the ability to report these profiles directly in the Google Maps app. In order to do so, click on the user name in the list of Reviews/Photos they contributed or the Question/Answer they posted to get to their profile page. Once on their profile page, click on the three dot icon. Choose ‘Report’ from the menu on iOS or ‘Report profile’ on Android. For additional information, read this post.

 

.::Reporting spammed, fake, or duplicate prominent locations to Google Moderators

There are certain prominent places which Local Guides can’t edit in Google Maps, such as cities, towns, rivers, natural formations, and more. If you come across a spammed, fake or duplicate location for which you cannot submit an edit or your edit is automatically rejected, let us know in a comment below. Make sure to tag a Google Moderator and provide the following details: 

 

  • Google Maps URL of the location (Eg: https://goo.gl/maps/qAZfCWDfZzoqchHL9);
  • What’s wrong with the place? Is it spammed, fake, or duplicate?
  • Which is the wrong information? Is it the name, category, or contact information?
  • What should the correct information be? Tell us the original name of the place in English and in the local language (if applicable), the right category (Zoo, Museum, etc.), and the correct contact information (official website, address, phone number, etc.).
2,851 Comments
Level 9

Hi

 

We at Kerala Local Guides are in a process of reporting the spam , the expert in this area is Digital Marketing agencies . all of them have SEO , Digital Marketing along with there names . We are renaming and reporting spam for those cases and looks sad that google approve all this name with out a second thought . Key words - Bulk SMS , Honey moon cottage , House boat , House Keeping ,Luxury Resorts  .Etc .

 

We will try clean up a State 

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/badges/userbadgespage/user-id/21203/page/1#
Level 10

Hi @Rodrigo_P,

 

Thank you for this message. Fortunately, I didn't see anything new - the rules not changed many years.

  • The problem #1 is that nobody notices them: business owners don't read them, and Google employees don't control the compliance of objects with these rules.
  • The problem #2 is that so far no one has reacted to our messages.

So the issue not "How to identify spam", even not "How to report spam", but "When will our voice be heard?"

 

@Rodrigo_P I remind you that, by agreement, which we reached at the SF Summit in person, I sent you an email describing the case of spam from https://www.google.ru/maps/search/sa.ru/@56.0713645,41.8103429,5.83z?hl=en and there is no reaction. 

 

More details see in my thread Claimed business oweners - are the biggest maps spammers

Enhorabuena, @Rodrigo_P ello es muy buen aporte
Yo estoy viendo otro tipo de spam aunque podria ser discutible.
Se trata de los apartamentos de alquiler, tanto como residencia como para vacaciones. Unos son privados y otros de agencias inmobiliarias. Algunos de ellos se publicitan como hoteles, tienen pagina web y están reclamados y administrados por sus dueños. Yo entiendo que no son negocios locales. Algunos de los que denuncio como spam los aceptan. Otros no. Pero los que están reclamados y con ficha de hotel (tienen posibilidad de reservas, fechas, precios, etc.) nunca los eliminan. Y como digo entiendo que es un fraude a la idea de Google Maps y sus políticas. Debería estar publicada la ficha de la agencia inmobiliaria pero no sus apartamentos.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations, @Rodrigo_P this is very good contribution
I am seeing another type of spam although it could be moot.
These are the apartments for rent, both as a residence or for vacations. Some are private and others are real estate agencies. Some of them are advertised as hotels, have a website and are claimed and managed by their owners. I understand that they are not local businesses. Some of those that I report as spam are accept them. Others no. But those who are claimed and with a hotel card (they have the possibility of reservations, dates, prices, etc.) never are eliminate them. And as I say I understand that it is a fraud to the idea of Google Maps and its policies. Should be published the listing of the real estate agency but not their apartments

Level 1

Hi @MariaBi 

 

I'm a new user here.

 

We are trying to build up our Google Maps listing, but a Local Guide (lvl 10) has been spamming us with completely irrelevant photos. Not only us - via his personal page, I noticed he's doing the same thing to other listings, using the same phrases including some obvious keyword stuffing.

 

After a bit of searching around, I was delighted to notice this forum and this "how to report" topic. I've already reported all of this guy's photos individually - I think I did that at least once. But apparently, it's way easier to add photos than to get them off your page, so I'm worried I'll have to keep spending my time reporting photos, which can't be the point of using Maps.

 

Could you get in touch please? Many thanks in advance!

Former Google Contributor

Hi @FrankD1

 

Thanks for reaching out. I will be sending you further instruction via private message very shortly. 

* Due to the volume of private messages please note that I do not reply to them
Level 7

Recently I've come across a 'reviewer' in Google Maps who advertises their products by putting pictures of their product in reviews of 30+ places in Jakarta. Can a moderator help handle the issue?

 

@JeslynL@TraciC

Level 9

@giovanniw  I hope you get this done. And hope that others can get this stuff changed. 

Level 7

Thanks for spreading this useful information, I have already reported couple of such places in my locality but they all are still pending hopefully they will be removed soon because many people go to such places thinking the place exist and end up blaming google for it which creates a bad reputation.

Level 10

@Rodrigo_P

Dear it's really informative one with a lot of information and detailed knowledge

Thanks for updating us.

Former Google Contributor

Hello @giovanniw - I'll reach out to you with instructions on how to report a local guide.

I am not available to respond on the weekend
Level 2

Thank you for the explanation 

Level 7

Oh I agree!  Thanks @Rodrigo_P.

Some really good information, in a formatted way for all to understand.

Level 8

Thank you so much!

อีสานร้อยแปด ทุกเรื่องราวของชาวอีสาน

India Local Guides, hope all's well. Who's up for a Packer Spam Hunt? Kind regards from Osaka78

Level 8

@Rodrigo_P That is a great post without any doubts.

But any time it is difficult to improve the MAP Information with the right information. I faced many time the "Not Applied" problem.

 

Many time I am I tried to improve the location and information any particular place, but I could not. Here I am sharing one example of your knowledge.

I am mentioning the information here. You can check and make the edit.

 

Problem: Location problem.

Kismat Maria Masjid, Durgapur I visited this place a few weeks ago. I found this place pinned at a wrong place. I took help from local people to reach the place. and found the exact place of the Kismat Maria Masjid, Durgapur.

Exact location of the Kismat Maria Masjid, Durgapur  is 24.425784, 88.780203.

It was very hard to find that the road was not drawn on google map. Hope this will be solved.I tried this twice.

 

@Rodrigo_P I hope you can make the solution.

Connect Moderator

thanks @Rodrigo_P for the post. Regarding to reporting local guides, as you mention above I can tag any google moderator. Here I have a friend of local guides that seemly not violating the rules but he got his account suspended. I think there is something wrong. I have sent the context to the email but nothing happened. Should I make a new post about this issue? cc @TraciC @BellaWi 

Thank You.

 

Regards.

Indonesia Local Guides
Level 9

Awesome!

 

Thanks for sharing this @Rodrigo_P

Level 6

Thanks lot @Rodrigo_P for ur details information..................

Level 8

 

 

 I spotted this guy. He post so many meaningless photos to different locations. 

 

@JeslynL

IMG_3880.JPG

 

 

 

 

Level 8

Hi @EdKflaneur,

 

When we want to report an LocalGuide that are Spamming, we should not post the details in public - to protect everyone's privacy.

 

Please edit your post to remove any sensitive details.

 

I am tagging our Google Moderator @JeslynL here - she will contact you in private for the details.

Level 8

thank you for the advice. i will edit the post. 

 

do we directly contact moderators or put it on a post to report spam local guides?

Level 8

Thank you very much, @EdKflaneur!

 

When I am doing it, I will write a post with subject:

 

"I want to report a Spammer, please contact me"

Then in the message body, I will tag one of our Google Moderators.

 

Then they will contact me via private channels - then I will provide the details as instructed.

 

You can read more for this topic below:

How Do I Report Content on Google Maps?

Level 7

Thanks @Rodrigo_P , nice shared, we will  count the uselss placeplace and send report, and google map team have to organize badge reporter google map for us soon, maybe yes.. Maybe no 😄

Level 9

Yeah, finally my expected article published here. Many guides wanted to know about this. Thank you very much for your contribution to the most active community @Rodrigo_P

 

Guys, if you have reported such spam places but the place is still in active mode, then please report the issue to one of our Google moderator here on group, you will be surely assisted by them through personal message on local guides connect.

Bk gajendra
Level 3
Level 3

I am seeking help from a Google Moderator @LuisRG@BruceDM@JeslynL.

 

Mr Ramsay House is not and never has been a client of our facility and therefore has had no contact with us whatsoever. His random review is therefore entirely unjustified and without any merit or legitimacy.  His history tends to reflect a poor use of being a Local Guide as well.  Please assist us in this review/removal.  Thank you for your help.

We recently had a spate of insertions into the website fields for a number of busineses that already had legitimate listings, probably processed by spam factories.

 

The websites were susually in the format of BusinessnameTown.SpamsiteName.com and appeared to look official at first glance but were not.

 

This was a clear attempt at traffic redirecting.

 

I tried correcting manually but it was a pain, in the end someone at google picked it up and cleared them out, but it seems to happen a bit.

 

Any way to report things like this specifically?

Former Google Contributor

@NunungAfuah, thanks for letting us know. The team is aware of this and we have responded to your email. We will reach out to the users as needed. Thanks! 

 

@BK_GAJENDRA, I'll clarify that @Rodrigo_P's way to report spam is the way to go. You should reach out to the Local Guides team if you observe a Local Guide making contributions that are in violation of the Local Guides Community policy and/or program rules

New to Connect? Check out Help Desk! Always keep in mind the Local Guides program rules when posting.

Level 8

This is a very useful piece of information. Thanks @Rodrigo_P for sharing...

Level 10

Thank you @Rodrigo_P for clearly explaining this. I remember having this discussion at #LGSummit17., I have noted all the pointers and have shared the same in the local guide community I'm part of.

 

Regards

Level 10

@Rodrigo_P

 Good idea for report a problem being misused.I came across such spasm and already reported. The modus operand  is like this : when starting business  the owner himself is giving 5* and using GM as a promotion and advertisement media using superlative qualities.Suggest to have a system of filter at the very starting such fake and  spam.so that it will be stopped even at the root.

jojo
Level 4

A level 8 local guide is is misusing his power as a local guide to name places, he simply names a place by translating the English words in local language and then placing his name in front of that word in local language.

Being a high level LG, he rejects if someone corrects this, he chooses the small public parks which are not frequented by many.

How to report this and get this corrected.

Level 10

Hi @vb1987 to report a spammer Local Guide, please, don't share here public info, but tag a Google Moderator (look here: https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Help-Desk/Meet-the-Google-Moderators/m-p/88603) to request support. They will contact you through private message.

For further informations, read here: https://www.localguidesconnect.com/cmxpv89733/board/message?board.id=LGDiscussion&message.id=30997#M...

Thanks

Level 10

Thanks for sharing

Tunisia Local Guides
Connect Moderator

Hi @vb1987 Thanks for reaching us

 

Please read this post to know how to report a Local Guide: /How-Do-I-Report-Content-on-Google-Maps/

 

Follow the indications of @vb1987

About the privacy, and avoid to share information in here.

Thanks Lucio for the help, please bookmark the link to the "official reply" from our Help desk board

 

Ermes 

Level 10
Connect Moderator

Hi @LucioV

Thanks for asking.

I mean the one linked in my previous reply, from Gus Moreira, and located in the Help desk

 

Ermes 

Level 10
Level 8

Thanks @Rodrigo_P. For Explaining it in more detail. I reported for a local guide ( spammer) . But no communication is make from moderator or Googlers.

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Feedback-and-Feature-Requests/Samming-Our-Google-Map/m-p/52961...

 

I hope it will not take much time for private communication from your end. The spammer attaching photos of restaurant in  different places of our locality and changing names of different places similar to his place name. Please see the matter. I am not sharing here the link for privacy. 

Level 10

Do we have a response @Rodrigo_P?

 


@Rodrigo_P wrote:

Thank you for your feedback and inputs @Briggs , will give a reply to your questions tomorrow

 

Thanks again


It's been five days and I am still not convinced. The places I have marked as 'Spam' are not being applied, all of them came back as 'Not Applied'. Your post does not hold any substance as long as the team does not work diligently on real spam or hear us out carefully.

 

What do you want us to do?

Level 4

Hello @ErmesT

 

As per the article on how to report a guide, I have sent you one to one message with the details, I am not sure if that's how to do it, or will it help, please let me know if I am doing something wrong.

 

Regards

Vivek

Level 9

Hey @vb1987 nice catch, You have done a great job for LG and MAP. Already @LucioV and @ErmesT put an eye of this issue. You just follow them and hope you can save MAP from that level 8 LG.

 

Happy mapping

Connect Moderator

Hi @vb1987

I've seen your PM. 

In fact what is required is just to tag a Google moderator in here, so you will be contacted in private mode. 

Let me tag a moderator for you 

@JeslynL

 

Ermes 

Level 4

Hi @ErmesT,

 

Thank you for tagging the moderator, I thought there is no difference between a Connect Moderator and Google Moderator. Now I know 🙂

 

Regards
Vivek

Connect Moderator

You are welcome @vb1987

Connect Moderators are Local Guides, like you, maybe a bit more active in the community. 

 

/Meet-the-Connect-Moderators/

 

Ermes 

Former Google Contributor

Hello @vb1987, I've shot over a private message with more details on how to share this info with the team. Thank you for not posting them publicly, as we value everyone's privacy. 🙂

New to Connect? Check out Help Desk! Always keep in mind the Local Guides program rules when posting.

Former Google Contributor

@EdKflaneur I've shot over a private message with more details on how to share this info with the team. Thank you for editing your post!

New to Connect? Check out Help Desk! Always keep in mind the Local Guides program rules when posting.

Dear @Briggs, hope all's well. In case Rodrigo_P is delayed, check with Flash. It looks like Rodrigo is just introducing the concept of spam for Local Guides to be aware of. Spam is seldom discussed much because it helps the spammers. Many Local Guides are prolific spam hunters, so if you want to get into it, Flash will probably help you. Kind regards from Osaka78

Level 10

Two examples where they are clearly 'keyword stuffing' and the team decides that it isn't spam.Two examples where they are clearly 'keyword stuffing' and the team decides that it isn't spam.

Hello @Osaka78forTRUMP,

 

I don't think I would want to be a prolific spam hunter, especially if I can't even report outright any sort of spam that is clearly and in-your-face blatantly obvious. I don't want to fight spam if in the end it isn't going to be considered and it's useless. Rodrigo said "tomorrow". He might've gotten a nod that he shouldn't entertain the skeptics like myself with information that I will just clearly rebut.

 

It is not worth it.

Former Google Contributor

Hello @MIL,

 

I'll send you a private message on how to report Local Guides.

I am not available to respond on the weekend

Dear @Briggs, hope all's well. Keyword stuffing is spammy for sure, no doubt. If a place is keyword stuffed, usually you find other similar places which are keyword stuffed, which can be edited, sometimes you find spam, which can be reported. If you're not sure, ask Flash. As for scepticism, Maps is beautiful and imperfect. Kind regards from Osaka78